KNAU and Arizona News

5:02 pm

Mon February 27, 2012

Gov Brewer Pushes New Federalism in DC

Arizona Republican Governor Jan Brewer spent the weekend in Washington meeting with other governors, cabinet officials and the president where she and others asked for more freedom from the federal government.

Recently, Governor Brewer gained national attention for what’s become known as the tarmac incident – where she was photographed angrily waving a finger in President Obama’s face when he visited the state. The governor says the incident was overblown, but she says she’s not backing down from her insistence that the Obama Administration needs to embrace what she calls “new federalism” and give state’s like Arizona more autonomy.

“If they would stay out of our way, like letting us utilize our natural resources," she said. "Arizona is based on and built on mining, Copper and now Uranium, and they just keep shutting it down, and shutting it down you know.”

Although she skipped a bi-partisan black tie dinner at the White House on Sunday evening, Brewer says she’s willing to meet with the president anytime to talk policy. She attended Monday’s session with the president where he asked Brewer and the other governors to restore deep cuts to higher education.